Holiness in Action

Overview

This 45-minute lesson is designed for preschool students in New Zealand, focusing on expressing holiness through daily actions such as kindness, sharing, and helping others. As lesson 2 of 2 in the unit "Discovering Holiness Together," it builds on foundational concepts introduced previously. Activities are tailored to support emergent verbal reasoning, social skills, and values development, aligned with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum principles, values, and key competencies.

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Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: Religious Education (integrated with Social and Emotional Learning)

Level: Preschool (early childhood; aligns with Year 0 expectations under NZ Curriculum)

Relevant NZ Curriculum Elements:

• Vision and Principles
  Emphasises values such as community and participation for the common good, integrity, and relating to others with respect and empathy.

• Key Competencies (Ministry of Education)

  • Relating to Others: Practising kindness, sharing, and empathy through interactions.
  • Managing Self: Making ethical decisions and acting responsibly even at a young age.
  • Participating and Contributing: Collaborating on shared tasks and group projects.

• Values
  Students will be encouraged to value kindness, fairness, and social justice through embodying holiness in actions.

• Learning Objectives (adapted from curriculum aspirations for oral language, social awareness, and ethical understanding):

  • Express understanding of holiness as kindness, sharing, and helping others using simple language and role-play.
  • Demonstrate cooperative behaviours and empathy in group situations.
  • Identify and describe how their actions can positively contribute to their family and community.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand and articulate examples of holy actions such as sharing, helping, and showing kindness.
• Participate in role-play scenarios to practice holy behaviours.
• Collaboratively contribute to creating a visual representation (‘Holiness Tree’) demonstrating their commitments.
• Use simple sentences to describe actions they will take to show holiness in their daily lives.

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Resources and Materials

• Storybook or simple story prompts about kindness and helping
• Role-play props (toys, hats, household item replicas)
• Large poster board or chart paper for ‘Holiness Tree’
• Art supplies: coloured paper leaves, crayons, stickers, glue, scissors
• Visual aids/cards illustrating kinds of holy actions (kindness, sharing, helping)
• Soft music (optional, to create a calm environment during art)

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Lesson Structure

Time	Activity	Description	Curriculum Reference
0-5 mins	Welcome and Recap	Briefly review “holiness” concept from Lesson 1 using simple questions and imagery. Prompt children to name “nice things we can do”	Supports oral language and vocabulary building; relating to others
5-15 mins	Role-Play Scenarios	Children divided into pairs/small groups to act out scenarios practicing kindness, sharing toys, and helping each other. Teacher models behaviours first.	Builds social skills and empathy; managing self; explicit teaching of behaviours to express values
15-30 mins	Group Discussion and Sharing	Gather children to share how the role-play felt and what holy actions they practiced. Teacher reinforces language for feelings and actions (e.g., “I shared my toy,” “I helped my friend”). Use sentence stems and visuals for support.	Develops verbal reasoning, narrative skills, and values expression
30-40 mins	Holiness Tree Art Project	Collaborative art: Each child creates a paper leaf decorated with a holy action they commit to doing. Leaves are added to the large ‘Holiness Tree’ poster as a symbol of their collective commitments.	Participating and contributing; creativity; expressing values visually; supports managing self and relating to others
40-45 mins	Reflection and Closing Circle	Children reflect briefly on the tree and share one thing they will do to show holiness. End with a positive affirmation chant or song reinforcing kindness and community.	Supports oral language, identity, and well-being; reinforces values and competencies

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Differentiation and Support

• Use visual supports, gestures, and simple language for children needing additional language scaffolding.
• Provide role-play roles matched to each child’s comfort level and abilities.
• Encourage peer support during activities.
• Use calm and positive reinforcement to promote engagement.

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Assessment and Feedback

• Formative Assessment:
  Teacher observations during role-play and group sharing to assess children’s understanding of holy actions and social skills demonstrated.
• Anecdotal Notes:
  Capture examples of student language expressing kindness and willingness to help.
• Holiness Tree Review:
  The completed tree serves as a visual summary of children’s commitments to holy actions.

Feedback is given sensitively as encouragement during role-play and sharing, reinforcing positive behaviours and verbal expression.

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Extension Ideas

• Create a ‘Kindness Calendar’ with daily small holy actions children can practice at school and home.
• Integrate simple storytelling time weekly to nurture values of holiness.
• Encourage family involvement by sending a summary of the holy actions home for discussion.

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This approach ensures deep connections to the New Zealand Curriculum’s refreshed emphases on values, competencies, and culturally responsive teaching, while respecting the developmental stage of preschool learners. By combining experiential learning with verbal expression and creative art, the lesson fosters a holistic understanding of holiness in actions within a community context.

Should you need, I can also provide a detailed script for teacher prompts or specific questions to scaffold the verbal reasoning parts!